Home window glass
Broken or cracked window glass, replaced in your existing frame
This page is about home window glass: a cracked pane in a wood double-hung, a ball through a storm window, a sealed unit split by a stone. The frame nearly always stays. Single panes are reglazed; double-pane units are built to size for your sash. One cracked pane is an ordinary job. The pro we match you with measures, orders and fits the glass; we pass the request on and make sure it gets an answer. Windshields belong with an auto glass shop; other window faults are on the windows overview.
- Single panes reglazed in wood sashes
- Sealed units built to fit your frame
- One cracked pane is a normal job
Right after it breaks
First steps when a window breaks: safety, cleanup, temporary cover
Most broken windows can be made safe quickly. Work in this order.
Make the room safe
Clear the room of kids and pets. Put on shoes and thick gloves, lift out the big pieces, then vacuum. Leave shards in the frame alone.
Photograph it first
Before sweeping up, take pictures from inside and outside, plus the ball, branch or stone. Your insurer and the pro will both want them.
Cover the opening
Tape heavy plastic over a small hole or fix plywood over a larger one from outside. A cracked pane still in one piece can be taped on both sides.
Tonight versus later
The cover goes up tonight; the glass waits, since a sealed unit is made to measure. If you can't close the opening safely, see emergency glass and board-up.
Older homes
Single-pane and storm-window reglazing in older Oshawa homes
Well over half of Oshawa's homes were built before the 1980s, the oldest housing in Durham. In the oldest, wood sashes with a single layer of glass are common, often behind a storm window.
That glass sits in a groove in the sash, held by glazing putty or thin wood stops. Reglazing means removing the old pane, cleaning the groove, bedding a new pane cut to size, fixing it with small metal points and finishing it with fresh putty.
Storm windows get the same treatment; the storm takes the weather so the inner sash doesn't have to. If putty is crumbling on other panes, ask for those on the same visit.
On a designated heritage home, regular maintenance doesn't need Council approval, but altering heritage features does. See the City's heritage alterations page.
Double-pane windows
Cracked sealed units: why the whole unit is replaced, not patched
In a double-pane window, the two panes and the spacer between them make one sealed unit. A crack in either pane breaks the seal, so the unit can't be fixed by swapping one sheet or filling the crack.
The pro measures, orders a new unit built to size and fits it into your existing sash or frame, the same swap that clears a foggy window. Until it's ready, the cracked unit usually stays in, taped, so the window stays closed. If the inner pane is broken, cover it from inside and keep people clear.
In a bay or a large picture window, only the cracked unit comes out; the rest of the assembly stays put. Ask whether taking away the old unit and broken glass is in the quote.
Safety glass
Tempered and laminated glass: where code calls for safety glass
Under Ontario’s Building Code, some spots in a house need safety glass, meaning tempered or laminated: sliding glass doors, storm doors, wider door sidelights, and shower or tub enclosures. A break there is replaced with safety glass too. Glass in a door has its own page.
Tempered
Toughened by heating and quick cooling. When it fails, it breaks into small, dull-edged bits. Because it can't be trimmed afterwards, each piece is made to exact size.
Laminated
A clear plastic interlayer sits between two sheets. Struck hard, it cracks but stays in the frame, which suits ground-floor windows where security matters.
Bars and film
Film helps a pane hold together when struck. Bars on a bedroom's escape window must open from inside without tools. Shop owners, see storefront glass.
Rentals
Tenants and landlords: the by-law says broken glass gets reglazed
Under Oshawa's Property Standards By-law, a window has to keep the weather out and stay in good repair, and the by-law spells out that this covers reglazing glass that's cracked, broken or missing. It's why a cracked pane in a rental is worth fixing promptly.
Who arranges and pays depends on the lease and the cause, so we leave that between tenant and landlord. Either of you can send the request to a pro who reglazes rental windows. Property managers can send several units at once, and our guide to the property standards for glass and screens covers the rest of the by-law.
Before you get a quote
What drives the price: pane size, glass type, frame material, storey height
Glass is cut or built to order, so expect questions about:
- Pane size, and single glass or sealed unit
- Glass type: clear, tempered, laminated, obscure or low-e
- Frame material: wood with putty, vinyl with snap-in stops, older aluminum
- Storey height and access, including ladders or a bay roof
- Divided panes, arched tops or other shapes
Photos of the break and the whole window, with a tape measure across the glass, often get you a quote before a visit.
Insurance
Storm damage and insurance: documenting the break
Wind is the storm people in Durham remember; the May 2022 derecho brought a tornado to Uxbridge. Most breaks are smaller: a branch, a ball, a stone from a trimmer.
For a claim, photos carry the most weight: the damage inside and out, the cause and the date. Ask the pro for a written quote listing glass type and size, and check with your insurer before booking.
Questions
Broken window glass questions
Explore your options
Other glass jobs that start the same way
Pros reglaze single panes and replace sealed units across Oshawa and nearby, including Downtown Oshawa, Lakeview, Stevenson & the Oshawa Centre area, Columbus, Raglan & Kedron and Whitby.
Photograph the break and measure the glass
Note whether it's a single pane or a double-pane unit, if you can tell. A local pro who replaces home window glass in existing frames will look it over and send a quote.